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Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake proposed the pay raise earlier this week, a move that's been seen as controversial because of the permanent closure of three fire companies in the city due to a budget crisis.

The Board of Estimates is made up of five members, including the mayor, Solicitor George Nilson and Public Works Director Alfred Foxx, who voted for the pay increase. The other two members, City Council President Jack Young and Comptroller Joan Pratt, voted against it.

The approved contract gives Fire Chief James Clack incremental salary increases each January through 2018. He will also get a raise in January from $161,262 to $164,487. By 2018, Clack will make $190,000.

The mayor's office said Clack deserves the raise based on his strong record, including a recent drop in the number of fire fatalities. Rawlings-Blake said the raise is justified.

"Chief Clack has demonstrated a commitment to public safety in Baltimore. As fire chief, he has made efforts to reduce fire deaths with only three this year, expand recruitment efforts, modernize the department and aggressively work for grant money to allow the fire department to offer thousands of free smoke alarms with 10-year batteries," Rawlings-Blake said Tuesday.

But firefighter union representatives spokes against the extension and raise, with union president Rick Hoffman saying the mayor's request was "ludicrous" and "makes me sick to my stomach." Read more of the union's response to the increase here.